One type of fluorescent luminaire is a wall wash luminaire. A wall wash luminaire typically includes a ceiling mounted housing that is mounted adjacent a vertical surface such as a wall. Fluorescent lamps and a specular reflector are located within the housing. The housing and the reflector are configured so that the majority of the light emitted by the lamps is directed towards the wall. One example of a wall wash luminaire is the FW102 luminaire that is commercially available from Columbia Lighting of Spokane, Wash.
In order to provide an even amount of lighting on an illuminated wall surface, it is desirable that the light emitted from the luminaire is emitted in an asymmetric pattern. This allows more light to be directed towards the portions of the wall which are further away from the luminaire.
One disadvantage of most wall wash luminaires is that the reflectors and the lamps are in a fixed position, and the light emitted by the luminaire is therefore emitted in a fixed pattern. This means that the luminaire must be mounted in a precise position in order to evenly light a desired surface. Often, however, it is not possible to precisely position a luminaire due to mounting requirements.
In order to address this disadvantage, there have been attempts to provide adjustable luminaires. Examples of adjustable luminaires are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,118 B2 to Shemitz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,585 to Littman et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,815 to Littman et al., each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Although the adjustable features of those luminaires ease the disadvantages described above, a continuing need exists for an improved fluorescent wall wash luminaire.